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The Midway Gallery

Treasures of Midway

By Matt Norsworthy
Special to the Courier

POSTED:September 25, 2007 5:04 a.m.

The quaint brick house at 70 Martin Road in the heart of Midway has been different things over the years. However, since October of 2005 it has been The Midway Gallery.The building was built in 1931 and served as Janie Wood’s residence and farm with cattle roaming the pasture beside it. After her death and the sale of the property, it was known as The Birdhouse, a store selling — what else — birdhouses. In the late 1980s the Midway Church bought the property and has leased it to Tina Eberlein and Donna Popour, who opened The Midway Gallery.The historic location is perfect to feature the works of local artists. The Gallery grew out of the desire of the residents of the Midway/Sunbury area. Eberline and Popour wanted to share their talents and services in their community and utilize over 20 years of experience in art, custom framing and photography.The Midway Gallery offers many services, such as custom framing, historical preservation framing, photography and art lessons for all ages. The Gallery has many works of art and photography from local artists, as well as fossilized shark teeth and specialty gifts from the area. This unique store is open from 10-6 Tuesday through Friday and 10-5 on Sunday.Eberline said art in the Midway and Liberty County area is, “becoming a more popular and appreciated form of expression and taste.” Exposure to local artists at The Gallery is another reason for the increase in art appreciation.Visitors can view the expressions of local artists specializing in stained glass, glass bead artwork, ceramics, photography, shell art, plus oil, acrylic, watercolor and gouache (an opaque form of watercolor) painting.The Gallery also hosts The Midway Art Festival, an annual event featuring many local artists and their works. This event takes place the last Saturday in April in conjunction with homecoming at the Midway Church. Visitors have an opportunity to meet artists and purchase their unique works of art.Any visitor to the Midway Gallery can see that Eberline and Popour did great deal of restoration work to the building before opening in 2005. With its timeless natural beauty of live oaks dripping with Spanish moss, the heart of the Historic Downtown District of Midway is a perfect place to peruse many of the beautiful paintings, prints, and photos of local artists. Popour stated that The Midway Gallery is, “very supportive of the historical locations and background of the Midway area and works closely with The Midway Museum and the Midway Church to retain the historic atmosphere of the area.”Plans for The Gallery are to simply grow with the community as an artistic center. Eberline and Popour both added that they “support growth, development, and work to ensure that the historic district and heritage of the area continue to be protected.”